Thursday 11 September 2014

If I Could Turn Back Time by Nicola Doherty: Review

IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME - NICOLA DOHERTY
Goodreads - The Book Depository Amazon



Synopsis

What if you found The One, then lost him again? 

Or not so much lost him as became the neurotic, needy girlfriend from hell. The girl who tried to make him choose between her and his job, and got seriously paranoid about his relationship with his best female friend... 

Zoe knows she doesn't deserve another chance with David. But if there's the tiniest possibility of making things right, she'll snatch it. Even if it means breaking the laws of physics to do so..




My Review

I haven't read much chick lit over the last few years, preferring to stick to YA, dystopian and crime/thriller novels. My Goodreads certainly reflects the lack of chick lit but when I saw this pop up on Bookbridgr, I couldn't resist requesting it.

This story tells the tale of Zoe, a girl who loved and lost David, her perfect man. The problem with their relationship? David's best friend, Jenny. A girl who sets out to get what she wants and normally wins - and Zoe knows that Jenny is determined to get her claws into David. However, David doesn't see it that way and after yet another argument over his friendship with Jenny, Zoe and David break up.

It is very clear to see why Jenny gets under Zoe's skin so much - she is stuck up, patronising and just a little evil at times. David, on the other hand, seemed quite nice so it did seem a little peculiar that he would have such a horrible best friend. But then he couldn't see what she was truly like. It would have been great to see if he finally saw her true colours further down the line.

Stuck in a job she doesn't really like, reporting to a horrible boss and generally having nothing to look forward to, Zoe finds everything changes after running after a customer who had left something behind in the store. The customer tells her to wish for what she wants - is the little old lady magic? We'll never know - but Zoe somehow time travels back a few months and is able to relive everything again.

Does she use this to her advantage? Of course she does -  wouldn't you? Although originally shocked by what has happened, she takes it all in her stride and uses her prior knowledge to score a promotion at work and nip any potential arguments with David in the bud.

The only person she really tells about her 'time travelling' is David's friend, Max. Max moves in with Zoe when she is on the search for a new room mate and it soon becomes clear that Max may have feelings for Zoe. Will his knowledge of what has happened ruin her and David?

I loved Zoe as a character even if I did feel that sometimes she was a little devious - I think everyone would use some prior knowledge to their advantage - but she used it all the time and this proved to be her downfall. Max was a great addition to the story - at first, he just seems like this weird, messy background character who serves no purpose to the story at all but with Zoe's inclusion of Max into her secret, the character gets pulled right into the story as it builds up to a slightly predictable but very entertaining end.

This was definitely a fluffy read but it was definitely needed to help pull me out of my recent reading slump. If you are looking for a quick cutesy read then this may be the book for you.



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